Board of Directors

Every association has a board of directors. According to the statutes, the BDH board consists of at least three persons, i.e. a chairperson and two assessors. The distribution of tasks within the board is laid down in the rules of procedure. All further details can be found in the statutes.

Since spring 2021, the following team forms the BDH board:

Valentin Poth – Chairman

Valentin completed his studies in timber economics in 2012. He then worked as a research assistant in the field of starch analysis in paper products at the Centre for Wood Economics. Since 2021, Valentin has been working in the Refining service business of Andritz AG.

His tasks are:

• Representing the BDH in other wood industry associations.
• Organisation of the Wood Growers’ Evening at Ligna and the Day of the Wood Industry
• Awarding of the BDH prize
• Responsibility for the membership directory and the BDH newsletters

Anh Nguyen – Member of the board

Anh is currently finishing her Master programme in Wood Science and at the same time, running her start-up Beetle ForTech with three Austrian colleagues. There she works as Chief Marketing Officer.

At the BDH, Anh is responsible for the following tasks:

• Media presence / Social Media
• Maintenance of the BDH website
• Contact with students and support for student activities
• Planning events and online activities

Thomas Walther – Member of the board

Thomas graduated in wood economics in 2003 and received his doctorate in wood physics in 2006. Today he works as Senior Principal at Poyry Management Consulting.

Thomas’ tasks in the BDH:

• Membership administration
• data protection
• Treasurer (administration of finances and bookkeeping)
• Preparation of activity and cash reports
• Preparation of the cash audit
• Collection of membership fees, dunning

Jan Lüdtke – Deputy Board Member

Jan graduated in 2007 and has been working as a scientist at the Thünen Institute for Wood Research since 2011. He is working on improving resource efficiency in the production of wood-based materials and the use of wood in the circular economy. Jan teaches process engineering at the University of Hamburg and as a guest lecturer at BA Melle and Hafencity University Hamburg respectively.